


Chains and Champions

by booklover721



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, Spuffy, season 1 rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 19:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13981788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booklover721/pseuds/booklover721
Summary: Response to SoaringClaws' challenge!Buffy takes an amulet she found in LA with her to Sunnydale. The night before her first day of school, Spike pops out of it as a ghost. He can only interact with Buffy, who wants nothing more than to forget her calling, and having a vampire-ghost sidekick only she can see isn't exactly conducive to a normal life. But we all know you can't run from destiny, and boy does destiny have a lot in mind for the two of them.Posted and updated on Elysian Fields first.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.  
> AKA I own nothing.

Buffy strolled through the streets of LA just after sunset, letting herself be the slayer for just one more evening. She twirled her favorite stake in one hand and strut to the beat of a song she had stuck in her head since the dance. Tomorrow she and her mom were moving to Sunnydale and leaving the past few months behind them. “A fresh start” is what her mom kept saying, and Buffy hoped that’s what it could be. No more Chosen One, no more vampires, and no more getting kicked out of school. Just a regular 16 year-old girl who only worried about what she was going to wear on her first day of school, and not how she was going to get blood out of it. A nice change of pace. She kicked a can and the aluminum sputtered across the street. She would miss her dad, sure, but she wouldn’t miss the fighting. Her parents fighting that is; she didn’t mind the release she felt after a good slay.

The night was slow--apparently most of the vamps in the city took off after finding out the slayer had slaughtered a high school gym full of them. This last patrol felt cathartic more than anything. She didn’t need to hunt or protect tonight. She was saying goodbye to her so called destiny, and goodbye to the city she grew up in. She’d miss the feeling of LA at night--full of lights and life, minus the vampires of course. She had asked her mom what Sunnydale was like after Joyce had driven down for the day to sign the paperwork for their new house. “Quiet,” Joyce had said with a small smile.

“Quiet because everyone is at the mall?” Buffy asked.

“Quiet meaning it will be very hard for you to get in trouble.” Her mom gave her a pointed look, and that was the end of that.

Buffy finally reached the boundary of what she considered to be her turf. She sighed, then turned to head home when something glittering in the gutter caught her eye. “Ooh, pretty,” she said, sweeping down to pick up a large crystal set on a gold chain. “On second thought, not pretty.” The crystal more gaudy than Gucci. She shrugged and put it into her bag anyway. You never know--maybe a Sunnydale club would have a costume party sometime.

When she snuck back into her bedroom, for the last time she reminded herself, she threw the necklace in her jewelry box. She briefly wondered if this was the type of thing you were supposed to bring to the police station in case someone reported it missing, but she so didn’t want to deal with the LAPD anymore. Besides, it’s not like it was a real diamond or anything. Probably. She shrugged and set her jewelry box into the last big moving box in her room, taped it shut, and wrote “Buffy’s room” on the top with a thick, black marker.

 

\----

Sunnydale did seem quiet, and after seeing the impossibly tiny mall on the edge of town, Buffy knew it wasn’t because everyone was out shopping. There were just not enough people here to make any noise. And was this really the only road? Because her driveway used to be longer than this. She told her mom so as they drove to their new house.

She did like the house--a cute two-story on Revello Drive, which was about a block away from the main road, like pretty much everything in this town. She ate take-out with her mom on their couch, one they had brought with them from LA. Joyce talked about finding a space for her new gallery as Buffy ate in silence. She had a few more things to unpack, so she kissed her mother goodnight, lifted a box from the pile near the stairs, and lugged it up to her new bedroom.

She kneed the door open with more force than necessary, by accident, her sight blocked by the large box she carried in her arms. The door swung open quickly, bounced off the wall and returned to hit her and the box. It split open, spilling its contents onto her carpet. “Oops!” She said, bending down to scoop up the items now littered across the floor. Her jewelry box lay open on its side, its contents now a tangled pile of gold and silver. She swept up all its items and put them back, not wanting to untangle the chains until later. In her haste to clean up, she kicked the crystal she’d found in LA across the room. She didn’t retrieve it, deciding it was just one more thing she could clean up later. Her room was unpacked save a few boxes--a benefit of her mom quitting her job in LA weeks ago was that she had all the time in the world to set up their new home. Buffy sifted through her wardrobe for something to wear on her first day of school tomorrow. She threw a cute blouse and skirt on the chair in the corner of her room and made a mental note to pair the outfit with the boots she had downstairs. She was a little nervous for tomorrow, okay a lot nervous, but it was nothing a good night’s sleep couldn’t help. She called goodnight to her mom then nestled under her brand new covers. New town, new sheets, new me, she thought. She was just asleep when she suddenly heard a piercing scream coming from the end of her bed.

 

\----

Spike was being twisted around in a tunnel, wrung like a wet towel. No, a blender--he was being picked apart by very sharp knives in a very large, very tight blender. He felt every molecule of his body being ripped apart and put back together sloppily, the pain unbearable and inescapable. He yelled, finding he finally had the ability to draw breath, then the pain stopped, and he was no longer spinning, no longer in the dark, and no longer a million pieces. He opened his eyes at the sound of a loud scream and realized it was him. He stopped and tried to figure out what had happened, where he was. A bedroom. Not the dark and grimy streets of LA. And definitely not in --

“Who the hell are you?” He turned to the sound of the voice. A blonde girl in pajamas stood behind him, a bat in her hand ready to defend herself.

“Who am I? Who the bloody hell are you and what did you--”

She swung at him and he raised his arms to catch the blow. It never came, and instead she shattered the mirror behind him. The bat had passed right through his body.

“Ghost, huh? I should have known this place was going to be haunted.” She stared at him with a look of bitter disappointment.  
“No, not a ghost. I’m a vampire, thank you very much.” He held his head up high and straightened his coat. “And if you don’t tell me what the hell is going on I’m going to rip out your heart and eat it in front of you before it even stops beating.” He put as much venom into his threat as he could muster, but the girl seemed unaffected.

“Vampires, now that I can do,” she said, lunging at him again. She fell through him, landing ungracefully on the floor. “Don’t know why I thought that would work,” she muttered.

“Buffy?” A voice asked from another room. A light in the hallway switched on and Buffy leapt to her feet.

“I’m fine, mom!” She ran to her door and leaned her weight on it so her mom couldn’t come in. Spike paced around the room, experimentally reaching for objects and failing to grasp them. “Oh bugger,” he said to himself.

“Buffy, I heard a crash, are you okay? What’s going on?”

“Uh, bad dream. I knocked my lamp over. Got to get back to bed so I’ll feel rested for school tomorrow. Sorry to wake you!” Her mother seemed to accept her response and went back into her bedroom. Buffy sighed in relief then picked up an old t-shirt from her dresser and used it to sweep the broken mirror pieces under her small vanity. That was something for future-Buffy to deal with, she thought. Present-buffy had a vampire-ghost problem.

“Look, tomorrow is my first day at a new school, okay? I haven’t even been here for a full day and already I’m being haunted by Billy Idol lookalikes? This isn’t happening. Go spook someone else. Better yet, go towards the light. You see a light, right?”

“There is no light,” he said impatiently. “And I’m not a ghost. I don’t think.”

“Let’s see, you’re dead and can’t touch anything? Monster survey says ghostie.”

“I’m not dead either,” he said, putting his hand through a wall. “I mean, yeah I’m dead, but that happened a hundred years ago! Last thing I remember I was walking to meet a bloke in LA, then I’m standing in a girl’s bedroom. Good God, please tell me this isn’t actually hell.”

“Wait, LA? Hold on, where is it…?” She dropped to her hands and knees. “Ah ha!” She jumped back up in front of him, the crystal necklace dangling from her fingers.

“That’s mine!” He said. “Where did you get it?”

“I found it in a gutter in LA last night. I picked it up because, well, it was shiny.” She shrugged.

“Those bloody wankers,” he spat. He unsuccessfully tried to grab the necklace from her. “They did this to me. That crystal’s cursed, they put me in it, and it turned me into this!” She quickly dropped it on the vanity as if it was hot.

“Cursed? Who? Why?” She asked.

“Wolfram and Hart, those bloody lawyers. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted them. Well. Now that that’s figured out, I’ll be leaving. Need to go get corporeal. How far is LA?” He rubbed his hands together, pleased to find that he could still touch himself.

“About 100 hundred miles that way,” she pointed out the window. “Thanks for visiting Sunnydale. I hope you enjoyed your stay. Collectible spoons are in the gift shop on your way out. Now, I really need to get to sleep. There’s still a chance this is all a dream.” She crawled back into her bed. “Nice to meet you, Casper.”

“It’s Spike, and I hope you learned your lesson about taking things that don’t belong to you.” 

She yawned, and he gave her one last glare before turning and passing through her door. She exhaled deeply, hoping this had all been a dream after all. Maybe the stress of starting at a new school was causing her to hallucinate. Maybe she never left the hospital her parents sent her to in LA, and she was in the middle of a deep psychotic break. Or maybe she never really would escape her calling, and monsters were always going to be drawn to her. She was asleep before she could think any more about it.

\----

“Buffy!” Her mom’s voice roused her from a turbulent sleep. She dreamed of vampires and blood and crosses and a whole bunch of other creepy stuff she had already given up in LA. Sunlight flooded her room and she rubbed her eyes. The events of the night came rushing back to her and she felt immediately awake, especially because that bleached blonde...whatever he was stood right next to her bed. She gasped.

“Morning, love. Sleep well?” He asked, arms crossed tightly across his chest.

“What are you still doing here?” She sat up, clinging her blanket to her braless chest, though she supposed he already saw her in her pajamas last night so any semblance of modesty was already gone.

“I’ve been cursed,” he said in a resigned tone. “I’m chained to this house thanks to you taking that bloody amulet. Tried leaving dozens of times last night and could only get to the front yard. It’s like I hit a wall and can’t move any farther. So I’m going to haunt you until you fix this. Did you know you snore?” He cocked a scarred eyebrow at her.

“Me fix this? I didn’t do anything! Also, I do not snore.”

“Buffy?” Her mom asked again, giving her door a quick knock before peeking inside. “Are you awake? Oh, my!” Her eyes widened.

“Mom! I can explain! He’s just a ghost!”

“Buffy, what happened to your mirror?” Joyce walked into her room and passed through Spike to get to Buffy’s broken vanity. “I thought you said you hit a lamp?”

“You...you don’t see him?” Buffy asked, eyeing Spike right behind her mother.

“What on Earth are you talking about? Are you feeling okay?” She put her hand on Buffy’s forehead to test her temperature. “No fever. You’re going to be late for school. We’ll talk about this in the car.” She gestured to the smashed mirror and then left Buffy to get ready.

“Is widdle Buffy feeling okay?” Spike said in a mocking voice.

“Shut up,” Buffy said. She threw her covers off her and grabbed the clothes she had set out to wear. “So only I can see you, huh? I’ve actually lost my mind, that’s what this is.”

He shook his head and followed her into the hallway.

“I’m telling you, it’s that crystal. It’s cursed the both of us. Me for being foolish enough to think...well, nevermind that. And you for picking it up. This is all your fault, I hope you know that.” She ignored his wagging finger, slammed the bathroom door in his face, and began to get ready for her first day at Sunnydale High.

\----

Spike stood in her kitchen and watched her scarf down a piece of toast.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do,” she shrugged, throwing her bag across her shoulder. “I guess I could look up the number for an exorcist, but that will have to wait until after school. Hey, maybe you’ll be gone by then.” She said hopefully.

“You need to take the crystal back to LA is what you need to do. That’s what’s keeping me here, I guarantee it.”

“Fine, I’ll put it in the mail after school. Happy?” Her mom honked from outside. “Gotta go.” She ran toward the front door.

“What, and I just stand here all day and twiddle my thumbs? You can at least turn the telly on for me!” He called after her. “Bitch,” he muttered as she slammed the front door. He was getting real sick and tired of all her slamming. She threw him a wave then hopped into the passenger seat of her mom’s jeep.

“Did you just wave at someone?” Her mom asked, looking around the neighbors’ houses.

“Uh, just saying goodbye to the house for the day,” she said perkily.

“Oh, bloody hell.”

“What? No!” Buffy said, whipping around her seat to see that Spike had materialized in the backseat of the car.

“What?” Joyce exclaimed, looking around her. “What is it?”

“I thought you couldn’t leave the house!” Buffy said.

“Buffy, what on Earth are you talking about? If this is some game you’re playing to try to get out of school today, it’s not going to work, young lady.”

“I couldn’t!” Spike said in disbelief. “As soon as your mum started driving away I was pulled along like I have a hook in my insides. It must be you I’m bloody stuck to.”

“This is a nightmare,” she said, turning back around and leaning her head against the window. “Sorry, mom. Just talking to myself.”

“Sometimes I just don’t know what to do with you anymore,” Joyce said. Spike snorted.

“Rebellious teen, huh? How cliche.”

“And now we have to get you another new mirror. I swear, Buffy. Sometimes…” They drove the rest of the way to Sunnydale High in silence, minus Spike’s melodramatic sighs every few blocks. “Have a great day at school, dear. I know you’ll do great,” Joyce said as she pulled up to the high school.

“Thanks, mom,” Buffy said as she shut the car door behind her. Spike slipped out and followed as well.

“And Buffy? Try not to get kicked out this time.”

“Ooh a genuine teenaged bad girl, then? Now I’m interested.” Spike said, trailing behind her up the front steps to the school.

“Shut up,” she said. A boy heading up the school steps gave her a glance then walked faster to get ahead of her. “Great. Not even in the building and people are already avoiding me. So glad my bestest ghost buddy in the whole world is here to help me make friends,” she said with sarcastic pep. Spike ran forward to attempt to block her way into the school.

“And you’re not going to take one step further. You’re going to turn around, get my crystal, and take me to Wolfram and Hart so we can get this whole thing sorted out.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “Oh I am? See, I thought I was going to school and we were going to deal with you later. What do you expect me to do? Take a bus to LA and back?”

Spike paused. “Well, yeah.”

“Just stay out of my way and let me get through my first day here, and I’ll help you later, okay?” She walked through him and into the school, the bell ringing above her with perfect timing. He was left once again with no choice but to follow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some dialogue taken from "Welcome to the Hellmouth."

On their last night in Prague, just before sunrise, Spike and Drusilla were strolling back to the house they had claimed as their own when the mob arrived. Though they lacked the pitchforks they needed to be a real cliche, they did wield torches. Drusilla was burning before he could get to her, and suddenly all that was left of his mate was a pile of dust. It was the worst moment of his undead life, he bemoaned to himself, until today.

Maybe today didn’t really top that; after all, he had loved Drusilla for more than a century. But it was definitely moving up on the Worst Day Ever scale.

Much to Spike’s surprise, Hell wasn’t all fire and brimstone and eternal torture like he’d expected--hell was the American public school system. Hell was playing shadow to bloody Tinkerbell, who didn’t know the Black Plague from Blue Lagoon. Hell was being able to sit on objects and adjust his coat, but somehow not being able to clutch Buffy’s neck, or smell , or even get his willy going during a detour to the girl’s locker room. The rules of his imprisonment were completely arbitrary to him. As long as he remained within about 50 feet of his schoolgirl, he could pretend he had some semblance of freedom.

With the exception of the locker room let-down, Spike stayed by Buffy’s side during the morning. Her classes were dull, and her teachers were uninspiring. He expressed this to Buffy multiple times as she tried to pay attention to the lessons, but his opinions didn’t seem to matter to her. When the boredom act got trite, he moved on to threats. “Listen here, love,” he whispered menacingly in her ear as she struggled to take notes on what was a mediocre history lesson, at best. “You have no idea the kind of monster I really am.” He morphed into his demon face and ran his tongue along his fangs, which still elicited no response from the girl. “Whatever magic’s keeping me your leashed pet isn’t going to last, and the second I can, your blood will be the first thing I taste. If you work with me, however,” he shifted out of vamp-mode, “I’ll let you live. Probably.” He smirked. Buffy simply scooted closer to the girl next to her in order to follow along with her textbook. The bell rang and the girl introduced herself to Buffy.

“Hi, I’m Cordelia,” she said, leading them down a hallway to the library. Buffy only acknowledged Spike’s presence once when Cordelia asked her opinion on vamp nail polish.

“Over,” she replied confidently, tilting her head and giving Spike one of her own smirks.

“Oh please,” Spike murmured to himself, “You wouldn’t know what cool was if it followed you around all day like a neutered dog.”

Cordelia left them at the library, only briefly stopping on their way to bully a timid redhead who Spike would have loved to find alone in a dark alley. He could clearly read the surprise on Buffy’s face at Cordelia’s sudden viciousness, but the latter girl didn’t seem to notice.

They walked into the library and Buffy missed the man behind the counter on their right as she looked around at the space. “Hello..Is anyone here?” She called.

“Can I help you?” The librarian responded behind Buffy, causing her to jump. So that’s what it took to startle this girl. A good old fashioned peek-a-boo.

“I was looking for some, um, books.” Buffy said. “I’m new.”

“Miss Summers,” the librarian said with a touch of familiarity. He moved back to his spot behind the counter and bent over to look for something.

“Good call. Guess I’m the only new kid.”

“I’m Mr. Giles, the librarian. I know what you're looking for,” Giles said, slamming a book on the counter. The old leather read Vampyr, and suddenly everything clicked into place.

“That’s not what I’m looking for,” Buffy said. She quickly made eye contact with Spike, and then he knew for sure. How could he not have known already? Her not being afraid or even shocked at sharing her space with a vampire, the burned down gym in LA her principal mentioned--the rumors were true about that then--and now here she was.

“Slayer,” He purred before chasing after her as she fled from the library. All the pieces were coming together for Spike now--the prophecy he heard in New York while drowning his grief for Drusilla in both bourbon and brunettes, the trinket that promised power to a champion, and who a greater champion than the only vampire to face and kill two slayers? Was this his test then? Kill another slayer? Kill this slayer? The whole non-corporeal thing must just be some magic going all wonky, nothing that couldn’t be poofed back to normal with a twitch of a nose, he was sure. He just had to get her to Wolfram and Hart.

“I should have known a slayer would be involved,” he said as he stalked behind her in the empty hallway. “Though I never would have imagined you’d be so...small. The other slayers I’ve killed, now those birds were something to be intimidated by. They had fight in them...until they didn’t, that is,” he grinned cruelly. Buffy turned to face him while crossing her arms.

“So you’ve killed a slayer, huh?” She asked. “Is that supposed to intimidate me? Because it’s kind of hard to be scared of something that can’t touch anything.”

“Two slayers, pet, and you’ll do well to not write me off so easily. Once I get my body back in LA, I’ll show you what kind of a monster I am, just like I promised.”

“And I’ve slayed so many vampires, I’ve lost count. You don’t scare me, Spike. And LA? Remind me why I would go back there if you’re going to try to kill me the second you can?”

“Because you want to be rid of me just as much as I want to kill you,” he replied. “And I don’t see you coming up with any other ideas. Or were those doodles in your notebook actually the blueprints of a great plan?” He got her there, and she knew it.

“Are ya done? Because I really need to eat lunch now.” She made her way towards the courtyard, leaving him behind.

The bloody slayer...now that was just...destiny, he thought to himself as he tested the lengths of his invisible chain again with another trip to the girl’s locker room. He was greeted not with undressed coeds this time, but with a covered corpse instead. “Well, isn’t this neat,” he muttered, squatting to examine what he could see of the body, which it turned out was nothing without moving the blanket. He heard the doors of the room slam open a few minutes later, and in came the Slayer.

“Spike,” she said. “Did a vampire do this?”

“I would let you know if I could, Slayer, but I’ve come down with a bad case of not being able to touch anything, or have you forgotten?” She slid the blanket down, and they both examined the dead man’s neck.

“Oh, great,” she sighed after seeing the puncture wounds. “I’m really never going to get away from all this, am I?”

“What, shifty locker rooms?”

 

“Vampires,” She stated.

 

\----

 

She stormed back into the library, knowing that if anyone could make sense of this, it would be the old British guy who was probably supposed to be her new Watcher, if she had kept up with the slaying stuff, that is.

“Okay, what’s the sitch?” She asked, and Spike added,

“Ask him about the crystal too, these stuffy blokes always have old books with answers.”

“Sorry?” Giles asked.

“You heard about the dead guy right? The dead guy in the locker?”

“Yes,” he said, waiting for her to continue.

“Well, it’s the weirdest thing. He’s got two little holes in his neck, and all his blood’s been drained. Isn’t that bizarre? Aren’t you just going, ‘Oooh?’”

“Got him,” Spike said, checking out the books that were scattered across a table.

“I was afraid of this,” Giles said.

“Well, I wasn’t!” Buffy exclaimed. “I was afraid I was going to be behind in all my classes--”

“You definitely are,” Spike said. “I for one can’t believe they even admitted you this late in the year.”

“--that I wouldn’t make any friends, that I’d have last month’s hair--”

“Zero for two there, Goldilocks.”

“I didn’t think there would be vampires on campus! And I don’t care,” she finished with a huff.

“Then why are you here?” Giles asked.

She paused. “To tell you that I don’t care...and to also let you know that I’m done with the whole slaying thing. I’ve both been there and done that. I’m moving on.” That got Spike’s attention again.

“Oh, you’re done being the Slayer, then? Didn’t realize you could just turn it on and off,” he said.

“I don’t understand this attitude, Buffy. You are the Slayer. Into every generation a slayer is born. One girl, in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the--”

“The strength and skill to hunt the vampires. To stop the spread of their evil blah blah blah, I’ve heard it, okay?”

“Oh, no,” Spike said, “Please go on. I didn’t know slayers had a motto. To stop the spread of my evil what, exactly?”

“Look, I already did the whole Chosen One thing in LA. I deserve a normal life, and that’s what I was planning on having here. But it’s only been one day, and it’s just one thing after another, and I want it to go away,” she said.

“Buffy, your moving here is no coincidence. I believe Sunnydale is a center of mystical energy The supernatural are drawn here, and it’s been getting worse. The slayer moving here just days before I expect everything is coming to a head--you were sent here to stop it. You being here now isn’t a coincidence, and--”

“And you can’t stop it yourself? I told you, I’m done,” she interrupted.

“I’m a watcher, I haven’t the skill. Besides I’m here to train you, to prepare you,”

“Prepare me for what? For getting kicked out of school? Losing all my friends? Having to spend all my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because it might endanger them? Go ahead. Prepare me.” Giles was silent, and Buffy took that as a good time to storm out again.

“You have got to be the most ridiculous slayer I’ve ever met,” Spike said once they were in the hallway. “Who cares about school and friends? We’re above all that nonsense. We’re creatures of the night, you and I. Living just for the kill.”

“That’s not me. I don’t kill, I,”

“What, hunt? Slay? This isn’t something you can keep running away from, little girl. You don’t get to retire from your destiny, as much as I would love if there were no slayers out trying to kill me and my friends. But then what’s the fun in that? You’re just going to stay on the sidelines while predators like me are out there waiting to make your schoolmates nummy treats?

“I didn’t say I’d never slay another vampire...I’m just not gonna get way extracurricular with it. If I run into one, sure,” she said.

“You’re a disgrace,” he pointed in her face. “The slayers I killed are rolling in their graves at the thought of you.”

“You’re really lucky I can’t hit you,” she said. But some part of her took his words to heart. Deep down she knew she couldn’t keep running from this. How many more bodies would be found in the school before she did something? And she didn’t see any of the other girls here talking to an invisible vampire. Technically she wouldn’t see that, but still. She was willing to bet her shoe collection that her being the Slayer and Spike being practically attached to her hip were connected. Where the dead guy in the locker fit in, well, that was to be determined.

By the end of the day, Buffy decided on two things. First, she was going to give Giles another chance. She didn’t want to jump right into slaying and training and preparing, as he said, but she would confide in him her Spike problem, and let him help her. He seemed to know a lot about the supernatural, and he probably did have books on the subject that could help. That was the plan for tomorrow. The second thing she decided was about tonight--she was going to the Bronze.

As brief as it was before duty called, Buffy had felt welcomed at lunch by the group she had sat with. Willow, Xander, and Jesse had made her laugh and forget about Spike, though the moment was fleeting. There was friend potential there, for sure. She even laughed a few times with them, and not even the fake laughing she used to do at Henry. The kind of laughing she would have to do if she stuck around with Cordelia. She shuttered at the thought--was she just as mean at Henry before she was Called?

So if the Bronze was really as popular as Cordelia had said, Buffy knew she had to check it out. Maybe Willow would be there. Or even anyone else she could talk to who wasn’t a vampire.

 

\----

“You said you were going to do something, that you were going to go to LA” Spike hounded Buffy while she walked down an alley she was fairly certain would lead her to the club.

“I am doing something. I’m going to make friends and have a life.”

 

“You bitch, this isn’t fair.” She stopped in her tracks and finally looked at him. “Something mystical is going on here, you heard the Watcher, and it has to be fixed. And since I can’t exactly talk to anyone but a blonde bint who also happens to be the bloody Slayer, you’re going to have to work this out. I can’t follow you around for the rest of our lives, no matter how short yours is destined to be.” His last words hit her the hardest and she knew he was right. Though she’d never tell him so.

“Okay, fine. But I don’t know what you expect me to do by myself. Say I do go to LA, then what? Walk into Wolfram and Hart with the necklace and say, ‘Here you go, just picked this up in the street and figured it must be yours. By the way, are you missing a bleached blonde vampire who never shuts up?’”

“Well...yeah,” he sputtered.

“Okay,” she sighed. “I’ll talk to Giles about it tomorrow. Let’s see if he can help first, and then I’ll talk to my mom about visiting my dad in LA this weekend and--”

“This weekend? No, now. Turn around and get on a bus, take your mum’s car for God’s sake!”

“Hello there,” a voice behind Buffy called. She spun to face the newcomer, ashamed to be caught so off guard.

“Hello there, yourself,” she replied.

“Oh, good one,” Spike rolled his eyes. “Wait a minute,” He squinted. The figure took a few steps toward Buffy, allowing a street lamp to illuminate his face. “Oh, bloody hell.”

“You know, you shouldn’t be walking alone so late at night,” the man said. Buffy could only describe him as tall, dark, and handsome, and she knew in a skipped heartbeat that he was going to be trouble. “You never know what’s lurking in the shadows.”

“Hmm, like creepy guys who sneak up on girls in dark alleys?” She offered.

“Didn’t think I could sneak up on the Slayer.” The man said. Buffy froze. How could he know? Spike rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way next to her.

“Who are you?” Buffy asked.

“This ponce is Angelus. Don’t be fooled by the brooding look across his daft face--it’s stupidity, not introspectiveness. He’s a vampire. Now do your duty and slay him.” Spike said, practically bouncing on his heels.

“A friend,” the vampire, Angelus, replied.

“I’m not friends with vampires.” Buffy said, and it was his turn to freeze as she took a stake out of her bag and held it in a defensive position.

“I didn’t say I was your friend,” dead prince charming replied. “But I am here to help.” He took a box from his pocket and tossed it at her. She caught it in her left hand without taking her eyes off him. “The Harvest is coming, and you’re going to need all the help you can get. You’re standing at the mouth of Hell, and it’s about to open.”

And with that, he turned and melted back into the shadows.

“Oh, what a...disgrace to vampires everywhere,” Spike spat as he watched Buffy open the box. “Please,” he eyed the silver cross on a chain resting on velvet in Buffy’s hand.

“Why would he give me this?” She held the chain up to Spike. “Who was that and what the hell was he talking about?”

“No one to worry about,” Spike answered. “He doesn’t kill anymore, just crawls around in the gutter looking for rats. And hair gel now, by the looks of it.” He said with disdain.

Buffy raised an eyebrow while looking at Spike’s own hair-do but decided now wasn’t the time to criticize someone who hadn’t seen themselves in a mirror in decades. “What do you mean he doesn’t kill?”

“He’s cursed,” he clarified. “Last saw him around 50 years ago, mopin’ about, livin’ on nothing but rats and other crawlies he could find in the gutter.” Buffy reflected silently on this. A cursed vampire? Exactly how many cursed vampires was she going to meet in Sunnydale? Cecause so far she knew two and still had zero friends. She plucked the chain from the box and put it on.

“And let me guess, you two go back further than that?”

“Something like that,” he muttered. Buffy turned and headed back toward the Bronze. She wondered if she should have staked Angelus, but if it was true what Spike said, that he didn’t kill anymore, then maybe she shouldn’t be starting the slaying up with him.

Spike continued to bother her about LA while she entered the club and quickly spied Willow sitting at the bar. She sipped on a soda and looked around expectantly, but didn’t see Buffy. With a last glare toward Spike, Buffy made her way toward her new potential friend while Spike stayed in place, combing through the club with his eyes.

“Hi,” she said, popping in front of Willow, who quickly swallowed her mouthful of soda and adjusted her straw.

“Oh, hi! Hi,” Willow said. Buffy asked if Willow was waiting for something, which prompted Willow to bring up something Buffy had already briefly sensed at school--Willow had a thing for Xander. After talking more about dating--God, Buffy couldn’t even think about going on a date with Spike by her side--Buffy decided to let Willow in on her philosophy. All she really needed was some confidence in herself.

“Life is short,” She stated. Short and sweet. The kind of philosophy a slayer needed to have.

“Life is short,” Willow repeated.

“Not original, I'll grant you, but it's true. You know? Why waste time being all shy and worrying about some guy, and if he's gonna laugh at you. Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead.” She spotted Spike lurking by the stairs, and her eyes drifted to the second level where to her surprise, Giles stood.

“Oh, that’s nice!” Willow said. Buffy excused herself, promising to return. Oh yeah, she definitely made a friend.

“I have an idea,” she said to Spike when she reached him. She started making her way up the stairs to where Giles scanned the crowd, clearly out of place with his tweed suit and stiff demeanor.

“Isn’t it a little skanky to hang out with students?” She asked, springing next to Giles.

“Ah, Buffy,” he was startled. “Just keeping an eye out for vampires. They’re attracted to places like this, all the...activity and energy. It’s a feeding ground.”

Spike peeked over the balcony. “He’s right about that. But how can he help with our little problem?”

“Because he’s a watcher,” Buffy answered, loud enough for Giles to hear.

“Who are you…” he peered over his shoulder than back at Buffy. “I am a Watcher. Your Watcher. And Buffy, now, I know this is hard to accept, but slaying is your sacred duty, and,”

“Who’s Angelus?” She interrupted. “Have you heard of him?”

Spike’s eyes could have bugged out of his head. “Angelus? No. No Angelus. LA, remember?” He snapped his fingers a few times in her face. “Stay focused, you bloody blonde--”

“Angelus? The name sounds familiar...I’ll consult my books tomorrow. How do you know of him? He’s a vampire, yes?” Giles asked, his curiosity peaked.

“Yep. And I just met him outside before he ran away from me. Said something about a mouth of Hell and a Harvest coming. I’m guessing he isn’t talking pumpkins.”

“Harvest? Dear Lord…”

Spike sighed. “Sounds terrifying. Now can you mention the sodding crystal?”

Buffy gave him a slight nod of acknowledgment. “There’s something else too. In LA, I found this crystal necklace. And I think it’s haunted. Well, not haunted. Cursed. I’m haunted. By a vampire.” Giles stared at her with his mouth slightly agape. “It sounds crazy, I know. But you’re the only one who can help me. You or Wolfram and Hart, I suppose.”

“Wolfram and Hart? Buffy, what are you involved with? You just disclosed quite a lot of information just now, and I’m afraid I need to start researching immediately. Bring your crystal to the library in the morning, and whatever you do, do not try to contact Wolfram and Hart. I have it on good authority that they are not who they say they are, and the Slayer should definitely not be involved in their dealings.”

“Oh second thought,” Spike cut in. “This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Ignore him, if we leave now you could make it to LA and back and still be tucked in your beddie before sunrise.” She shrugged him away and played it off by adjusting her sleeve.

“What do you mean? Are they dangerous?” She asked.

“They work with demons, Buffy, and don’t exactly fight for the good side. First thing in the morning, be at the library.” He left in a hurry and Buffy watched him rush down the stairs through the crowd. He passed right next to a flame of red hair that caught her eye. Willow. She seemed to be seizing the day. A guy in an outdated outfit led her toward the exit and--

“Oh no,” she muttered. He was a vampire. So much for that advice. Spike followed her gaze and tsked.

“Well there goes that new friend. It really is too bad you aren’t into the whole slaying thing anymore. Redheads go down like strawberries, you know. Lucky bloke.”

“You’re disgusting,” Buffy said pushing through him and rushing down the stairs. “Also, shut up.”

She made her way toward the door that led backstage where she had seen the two go, but found nothing back there--nothing save Cordelia and the death of whatever social life she could have had at Sunnydale.

“Oh that was brilliant,” Spike laughed after she nearly attacked Cordelia with a makeshift stake. “Legs is never going to let you live that one down. Been out of practice a little too long, Slayer?”

“Ugh!” Buffy exclaimed, running back the way she came, desperately on the look-out for Willow. She hurried toward the exit, and ran into Xander in the alley.

“You’re leaving already?” He asked just a tad too eagerly for Buffy’s taste. She asked him if he had seen Willow, if he knew where she would go with a guy.

“We are talking about Willow, right?” He clarified.

“You know, he’s prolly taking her back to his place,” Spike said. “Hoping to get a little action in before dinner.” He crudely ran his hand down his stomach and stopped at his groin.

“God, just shut up!” Buffy exclaimed. Xander’s eyes widened in surprise. “Not you, Xander. I was just uh, talking to myself. I need to find Willow before---”

“Before a vampire eats her?” He joked, trying to alleviate the awkwardness of her outburst. She threw her hands up in the air and turned to Spike.

“Was there a school bulletin? Was it in the news? Is there anybody in this town who doesn’t know I’m a slayer?”

Xander backed off. “I only know that you think you’re a slayer, and I only know that ‘cause I was in the library today.” Of course someone overheard her and Giles. Or maybe he overheard her talking to Spike in the hallway, in which case she looks extra crazy. She didn’t have time for explanations or denials. Willow was in this now, and so was Xander.

“Whatever. Just tell me where Willow would go.”

“You’re serious.”

“We don’t find her, there’s gonna be another dead body in the morning.” So much for no slaying. Xander led her to the closest cemetery and explained that sometimes people came there to make out.

“Not that I would actually know,” he added, then cringed to himself.

Buffy leapt onto a mausoleum, pulling herself up on the ledge with ease to survey the area. “Woah,” Xander said from down below. “That was, uh, so you’re like Supergirl then?” Spike rolled his eyes and muttered,

“Show off.”

“There!” Buffy said, pointing to a spot across the cemetery where Spike could just barely see a group of people. She flipped off her perch and took off running toward group. Xander followed as fast as he could, and Spike stood in place, waiting until she was just far enough away for the chain to pull him along reluctantly.

She caught up with Willow and the poorly dressed vampire, and to her surprise Jesse was with her, along with a second vampire--a blonde dressed in a school girl outfit Buffy didn’t think was fooling anyone.

“Oh bollocks, that’s Darla. Well, isn’t this one big happy family reunion.” Spike said.

“Darla?” Buffy asked, and at the sound of her name Darla spun around and smiled through fanged teeth when she spotted Buffy.

“I’m sorry, have we met?” Darla asked sweetly, taking a tighter hold of Jesse, who was already bleeding from the neck.

“I think I’d remember meeting a vampire with a role play habit,” Buffy said, looking her up and down. “Unfortunately for you, those are my actual friends you have, and you have about three seconds to let them go.”

“Is that right?” Darla yanked on Jesse’s arms again, causing him to wince. Willow also squirmed, held in place by the DeBarge reject.

“Uh, Buffy, what’s going on?” Willow asked.

“That’s three,” Buffy said, and dove toward Darla, swinging her ready stake towards the latter’s chest. Darla caught Buffy’s arm with one hand and used the other to shove Jesse to the side.

“Take them to the Master!” She yelled, and the male vampire grabbed Jesse and dragged Willow with him. He ran deeper into the cemetery toward a dilapidated mausoleum. Xander followed.

“She’s stronger than you, Slayer,” Spike said as the women fought. “She’s older than me. Older than Angelus even. The three of us, and Dru, we took on Europe together once upon a time. I’ve seen her brutally massacre villages. No mercy. A slayer like you has no chance.” He watched them with a bored look on his face. Buffy grappled with Darla and slammed her fist against her face when she found a weak spot in her defenses.

“You, Darla, Angelus…seems like a pretty weird coincidence everyone is in town at the same time, don’t you think?” She said to Spike while dodging Darla’s fists. Suddenly Darla got Buffy in the face. Buffy brushed the pain away and responded with a fist of her own.

“What did you just say? Did you see Angelus?” Darla asked, then lunged for Buffy again.

“Oh you know him?” Buffy said, avoiding Darla’s uppercut and high kicking her in the face. “Does he usually go around giving girls jewelry? Because it’s quite a way to make a first impression.” Another kick. “Comes on a little too strong if you ask me.”

“Tell me where you saw him! Tell me, and I’ll let you live!” Darla screamed, wiping her own blood off her mouth.

“Not sure which fight you’re watching,” Buffy said. “But from my vantage point, you aren’t really in the position to be bargaining like that. How about this, you tell me what the Harvest is, and then I kill you.” Darla backed away from Buffy then took off running towards where the other vampire had taken Buffy’s friends. Buffy followed, sprinting even faster when she heard Willow scream.

Once inside the mausoleum, she saw Xander sporting a bloody nose and struggling to get up. He must have tried to attack DeBarge himself. Willow and Jesse stood in another corner with Darla.

“Hey!” Buffy called. “It’s pretty rude to leave in the middle of a conversation.” DeBarge grinned through his fangs and rushed her, immediately getting himself staked and falling into a pile of ash.

“Bloody finally,” Spike said, watching the scene play out. “I thought you’d never get a kill in. Too much talk, Slayer.”

“Guys, get out of here, go!” Buffy said to her friends who came together to help support Jesse. They didn’t need telling twice, and ran from the mausoleum in shock.

“Don’t go far!” Darla called behind them. “Now, where were we?” She came for Buffy, who skirted out of the way just in time. Darla tumbled on the floor.

“Uh, Slayer,” Spike said.

“You know, I just wanted to start over. Be like everybody else. Have some friends, maybe a dog…But no. You had to come here. You couldn’t go suck on some other town. You, Angelus, Spike...”

“Who are you, and where is Angelus?” Darla asked, picking herself off the ground.

“Slayer, you might want to--” Spike said.

“Don’t you know?” Buffy asked before suddenly being grabbed by the throat from behind and lifted into the air.

"I don't care," the new vampire stated.

“Now see, if you had listened to me,” Spike said as Buffy was thrown across the room. She got to her feet and attacked the new vampire, but he slammed her back to the ground again. She gasped for air, trying to remember the practices her old watcher had taught her about recovering during a fight. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, and--the vampire gripped her throat again and lifted her to her feet. She clawed at his hand, her throat burning as she willed herself not to panic.

“Goodbye, Slayer,” Spike whispered, now at her side. Her fury at Spike basking in her defeat gave her a burst of energy, and she broke free of the vampire’s grip and landed back on her feet. But she was still too slow, and the vampire threw her into a sarcophagus and leaned in to take a bite. Her cross from Angelus slipped from her tangled hair, and he gasped in pain as the silver pendant brushed his skin. He jumped back, giving her enough room to aim a solid kick to his chest, then slipped away and make a run for it. Spike followed at her pace until she ran into more vampires separating Xander and Willow.

“I really didn’t think you were going to come out of that one alive,” Spike said as she pulled one off of Willow and ripped a branch off a tree for a stake. “Overall I’d give the fight a solid 5 out of 10. A few points off for letting Darla go though. You really should have staked the bitch while you had a chance.” She dusted the vamp who had Xander.

“Xander, are you okay?” Willow asked, running to him and helping him back on his feet. Buffy examined his head and saw he had been hit from behind as well.

“Where’s Jesse?” Buffy asked. There was no sign of him or Darla.

“I don’t know,” Willow said, worried. “They surrounded us.”

“The girl grabbed him and took off,” Xander said, struggling to stay steady.

“Which way?” Buffy asked, bracing him.

“I don’t know,” Xander said.

“Can’t save them all,” Spike stated. “Think of it this way, now there’s one less person at school to think you’re a loser.” Buffy said nothing, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a response. She helped Xander and Willow back to safety and assured them she would explain everything, and find Jesse, tomorrow.

Once back in her own house, she scrubbed clean herself clean of dirt and blood in an not-so-relaxing shower. She remained on high alert and kept her guard up, expecting Spike to walk in on her at any moment. After changing into clean pajamas, she crashed and collapsed on her bed.

“This was officially the longest day of my life.” She muttered face first into her pillow.

“You can say that again. Judging by the way you kicked off your completely inconvenient and ridiculous boots, I’d say that trip to LA is out of the question.” Spike said, standing at the threshold of her room, arms folded.

“Uh, yeah. It’s almost midnight. Besides, you heard what Giles said. Wolfram and Hart aren’t people I should be trying to take on myself.”

“Oh, well if the watcher says so,” he mocked.

Buffy reluctantly got off her bed and made her way to her door. “Yeah. He does say so. Goodnight Spike.” She shut the door and fell on her bed again. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


End file.
